Latency reduction in service function paths

ABSTRACT

In some aspects, a method of the technology can include steps for sending a packet along a service function chain (SFC) to an egress node, the SFC comprising a plurality of service function forwarders (SFFs), wherein each SFF is associated with at least one service function (SF), and receiving the packet at a first SFF in the SFC, wherein the first SFF is associated with a first SF. In some aspects, the first SFF can also be configured to perform operations including: reading an option flag of the packet, and determining whether to forward the packet to the first based on the option flag. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/491,352 filed on Apr. 19, 2017, the contents of which is incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed technology relates to systems and methods for reducingpacket latency in a service function path (SFP) of a software definednetwork (SDN). In particular, the subject technology provides ways toreduce packet latency and/or jitter by skipping optional servicefunctions (SFs) when a predicted packet delay is likely to exceed apredetermined latency threshold.

BACKGROUND

The utilization of NFV and SDN technologies allows the decoupling ofnetwork functions from underlying hardware so they can run as softwareimages or logical modules on commercial off-the-shelf and purpose-builthardware. NFV is possible implementing virtualization technologies(computers, networks, and storage media) to virtualize the networkfunctions. One common objective of NFV deployments is to reduce thedependence on dedicated physical devices by allocating and using thephysical and virtual resources only when and where needed. With thisapproach, service providers can reduce costs by shifting components to acommon physical infrastructure while optimizing use. The virtualizationof network functions can also accelerate the time to market for newservices by allowing for more automated and streamlined approaches toservice delivery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a moreparticular description of the principles briefly described above will berendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only example aspects of the disclosure and are not therefore tobe considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein aredescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example virtual network environment that may beused to implement some aspects of the subject technology.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a service function chain(SFC), according to some aspects of the technology.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of steps that used to implement anexample SF prioritization method, according to some aspects of thetechnology.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a network device.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate example system embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below.While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other components and configurationsmay be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Overview

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure are set forth inthe description that follows, and in part are obvious from thedescription, or can be learned by practice of the principles disclosedherein. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realizedand obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularlypointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of thedisclosure will become more fully apparent from the followingdescription and appended claims, or can be learned by the practice ofthe principles set forth herein.

Aspects of the instant disclosure relate to systems, methods, andcomputer-readable media for reducing packet latency and/or jitter in anoverlay network. In some implementations, a method of the technology caninclude steps for sending a packet along a service function chain (SFC)to an egress node, the SFC including multiple service functionforwarders (SFFs) each associated with at least one service function(SF), and receiving the packet at a first SFF in the SFC, wherein thefirst SFF is associated with a first SF. In some aspects, the first SFFcan also be configured to perform operations including, reading anoption flag of the packet, and determining whether to forward the packetto the first SF based on the option flag.

As discussed in further detail below, option flag setting (or removal)by the SFF can be based on various network parameters. In someapproaches, the option flag can be set (or removed) based on a packettime delay, and in particular, whether the delay has exceeded apre-determined latency threshold, for example, that is specified by aService Level Agreement (SLA). In other approaches, option flag settingcan be based on a measured variance in packet delivery time (jitter). Assuch, option flag setting (or removal) can be implemented in somein-band operation, administration, and maintenance (iOAM) solutions toensure policy compliance of select traffic flows.

Description:

A service function (SF) or “SF instance” can be implemented using acombination of hardware and/or software solutions. As discussed infurther detail below, SF instantiation can be facilitated by a servicefunction forwarder (SFF), for example that is configured to receive apacket, make a determination regarding an applicable service functiontype and based on the determination, forward the packet to theappropriate SF for network function invocation. Similar to othervirtualized network components, SFFs can be logical modules implementedusing a variety of hardware and software solutions. For example, SFs andSFFs can be implemented by software routines executed on the same (ordifferent) virtual machines (VMs), or executed in separate logicalenvironments for example, running on different VMs and located atgeographically disparate locations. As used herein, an ordered set of SFinvocations can be referred to as a “service function chain” (SFC).

SFCs are used to facilitate the ordered execution of predeterminedservice functions on traffic flows. However, due to time delays incurredwith each SF invocation, traffic latency and packet delivery deviations(i.e., “jitter”) are exacerbated for traffic moving over long SF paths.Aspects of the technology provide solutions for reducing latency and/orjitter by providing ways to avoid optional service functions in theservice function path.

A latency threshold can be designated for a given service function path.The latency threshold can define a maximum acceptable delay for packetdelivery across the network path, e.g., to a desired end-point or egressnode. As discussed in further detail below, the latency threshold can beset as part of a Service Level Agreement (SLA), e.g., a contract betweena network service provider and one or more end users that defines alevel of service expected from the provider. Packet delivery delayspredicted to exceed the latency threshold (e.g., causing violation of anSLA) can trigger the skipping of “optional” service functions, forexample, that are of a lower priority and therefore not necessary forpacket delivery.

The optional application of certain SFs can be indicated by setting an“option flag” in the packet data. By way of example, a given packet forwhich delivery to a destination egress node is predicted to exceed thelatency threshold can be marked with an option flag by theprocessing/forwarding SFF. Based on the option flag, downstream SFFs canoptionally skip packet presentation to one or more of their associatedSFs, e.g., to speed transport of the packet along the service functionpath.

Additionally, in some aspects, packets for which an option flag has beenset can be later predicted to achieve delivery within the latencythreshold. In such instances, the processing SFF can rewrite (remove)the option flag, for example, to indicate that subsequent networkfunction application is nondiscretionary. As such, each subsequent anddownstream SFF can proceed with normal application of SFs. As withoption flag setting, option flag removal can also be dictated by one ormore network policies, such as those determined by an obtaining SLA.

Latency thresholds for a given SFP and/or traffic flow type can be userconfigured, for example, by a network administrator using a networkcontroller. In other aspects, latency thresholds can be automaticallydesignated and/or adjusted, for example, using an algorithm or machinelearning approach. In yet another aspect, latency threshold may beautomatically determined and/or configured based on one or moreparameters dictated by a SLA or similar policy.

Time delay predictions for a given packet can be calculated at each SFFor at specifically designated SFFs in the service function chain. Timedelay predictions can also be based on different types of metrics forinformation available to the processing SFF. For example, time delaypredictions may be based on a number of hops in a service functionchain, and/or time value designations that are specific to the type ofSF invoked in the service function path.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an example virtual network environment100 in which one or more service function chains can be implemented.Fabric 112 can represent the underlay (i.e., physical network) ofenvironment 100. Fabric 112 can include spine routers 1-N (102 _(A-N))(collectively “102”) and leaf routers 1-N (104 _(A-N)) (collectively“104”). Leaf routers 104 can reside at the edge of fabric 112, and canrepresent the physical network edges. Leaf routers 104 can be, forexample, top-of-rack (“ToR”) switches, aggregation switches, gateways,ingress and/or egress switches, provider edge devices, and/or any othertype of routing or switching device.

Leaf routers 104 can be responsible for routing and/or bridging tenantor endpoint packets and applying network policies. Spine routers 102 canperform switching and routing within fabric 112. Thus, networkconnectivity in fabric 112 can flow from spine routers 102 to leafrouters 104, and vice versa.

Leaf routers 104 can provide servers 1-4 (106 _(A-D)) (collectively“106”), hypervisors 1-4 (108 _(A)-108 _(D)) (collectively “108”),virtual machines (VMs) 1-4 (110 _(A)-110 _(D)) (collectively “110”),collectors 118, engines 120, and the Layer 2 (L2) network access tofabric 112. For example, leaf routers 104 can encapsulate anddecapsulate packets to and from servers 106 in order to enablecommunications throughout environment 100. Leaf routers 104 can alsoconnect other network-capable device(s) or network(s), such as afirewall, a database, a server, etc., to the fabric 112. Leaf routers104 can also provide any other servers, resources, endpoints, externalnetworks, VMs, services, tenants, or workloads with access to fabric112.

VMs 110 can be virtual machines hosted by hypervisors 108 running onservers 106. VMs 110 can include workloads running on a guest operatingsystem on a respective server. Hypervisors 108 can provide a layer ofsoftware, firmware, and/or hardware that creates and runs VMs 110.Hypervisors 108 can allow VMs 110 to share hardware resources on servers106, and the hardware resources on servers 106 to appear as multiple,separate hardware platforms. Moreover, hypervisors 108 and servers 106can host one or more VMs 110. For example, server 106 _(A) andhypervisor 108 _(A) can host VMs 110 _(A-B).

In some cases, VMs 110 and/or hypervisors 108 can be migrated to otherservers 106. For example, VM 110 _(A) can be migrated to server 106 _(C)and hypervisor 108 _(B). Servers 106 can similarly be migrated to otherlocations in network environment 100. For example, a server connected toa specific leaf router can be changed to connect to a different oradditional leaf router. In some cases, some or all of servers 106,hypervisors 108, and/or VMs 110 can represent tenant space. Tenant spacecan include workloads, services, applications, devices, and/or resourcesthat are associated with one or more clients or subscribers.Accordingly, traffic in network environment 100 can be routed based onspecific tenant policies, spaces, agreements, configurations, etc.Moreover, addressing can vary between one or more tenants. In someconfigurations, tenant spaces can be divided into logical segmentsand/or networks and separated from logical segments and/or networksassociated with other tenants.

As discussed in further detail below, VMs 110 can be used to implementone or more service chains SFCs (not illustrated).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment 200 for implementing a servicefunction chain (SFC) 204. Environment 200 includes server 202, which isconfigured to implement SFC 204; however, it is understood that one ormore hardware or software components of SFC 204 can be implemented byone or more of logical modules on server 202, or on physically distincthardware, for example, on one or more servers 106 represented byenvironment 100, as discussed above.

In environment 200, SFC 204 includes classifier 206, a plurality ofservice function forwarders (SFFs), i.e., SFF1, SFF2, and SSF3(208A-214A), and an egress node 216. Each SFF is associated with arespective SF, i.e., SF1_FW, SF2_LB, SF3_DPI, and SF4_RT (208B-214B),configured to apply a particular function type to any receivedpackets/data flows.

By way of example, in environment 200, SF1 (208B) is associated with a“firewall” function, SF2 (210B) is associated with a “load balancing”function, SF3 (212B) is associated with a “deep packet inspection”function, and SF4 (214B) is associated with a “routing” function,respectively. Although the example of environment 200 illustrates eachSFF (e.g., 208A-214A) as paired with a single SF (e.g., 208B-214B), itis understood that each SFF can be associated with two or more SFs,without departing from the scope of the technology.

In practice, a packet received by classifier 206 is routed to egressnode 216, via SFC 204. As the packet is transferred to each subsequentSFF (208A-214A), a determination is made, by the receiving SFF, as towhether the packet should be forwarded to one or more corresponding SFs.Depending on the desired implementation, determinations as to whether ornot to skip a particular SF in the SFC may be made at each SFF, or onlyby pre-designated SFFs in the service chain.

SF forwarding determinations can be based on an option flag indicated inthe packet data. Although the option flag can reside in any portion ofthe packet data, in some aspects, the option flag is indicated as partof an IP address header (e.g., in IPv6), or using data inserted betweenthe IP address and payload, e.g., in a network service header.

In some approaches, SF forwarding determinations are made (e.g., by theprocessing SFF), based on a status indicated by the option flag, as wellas a determination of whether a particular SF is “mandatory” or“optional.” For example, even if an option flag indicates that SFforwarding should be skipped, SF forwarding can still occur if theassociated SF is mandatory, e.g., if the SF is critical for security orpacket delivery. However, if the option flag indicates that SFforwarding should be skipped, and the associated SF is optional, thenthe processing SFF can forward the packet to the next SFF in the SFC,reducing overall delivery latency by an amount of time it would havetaken for application of the skipped SF.

Option flag settings can be evaluated/re-evaluated at each hop along theSFC, by particularly designated SFFs, or at certain times during theoccurrence (or non-occurrence) of certain conditional events. Forexample, option flag settings can be re-evaluated at each SFF(208A-214A) in SFC 204, or at every other SFF (e.g., 210A and 214A). Insome implementations, option flag evaluations may be triggered inresponse to detected changes in a SLA or other network policy.

By way of example, a packet forwarded by classifier 206 can include anoption flag indicating that SF forwarding should be skipped whenpossible (e.g., the option flag is “present” or “set”). The option flagcan be designated as part of the IP header of an IP address associatedwith the next SF. For example, classifier 206 can forward the packet toIP address 2001:1111::2, wherein address 2001:1111 is associated withSF1 208B, and ‘2’ is used to designate invocation of the forwardingoption. Upon receiving the packet, SFF1 208A inspects the packet todetermine if it should be forwarded to SF1 208B. If the network functionassociated with SF1 208B is mandatory, then SFF1 208A sends the packetto SF1 208B. Alternatively, if the network function associated with SF1208B is optional, SFF1 208A can forward the packet directly to the nexthop in the SFC, e.g., SFF2.

In some instances, the option flag status can be reevaluated by theprocessing SFF. In such instances, SFF1 208A can make a determination asto whether or not a time delay associated with the packet is predictedto exceed the latency threshold for delivery to egress node 216. By wayof example, if the latency threshold is 100 ms, and the determined timedelay at SFF1 208A is 10 ms, then SFF1 208A can edit the option flage.g., to indicate that SF delivery is mandatory e.g., since only fourhops remain in the SFC. In such embodiments, SFF1 208A could forward thepacket to IP address 2001:2222::1, where 2001:2222 indicates an IPaddress of SF2 210B, and ‘1’ is the option flag used to indicate that SFforwarding (e.g., now by SFF2 210A) is mandatory.

Alternatively, if the latency threshold was 10 ms, and the determinedtime delay at SFF1 208A was 5 ms, then SFF1 may leave the option flagdesignation unchanged, e.g., to encourage further SF skipping along theSFC to increase a probability of delivery of the packet to egress node216 within the designated latency threshold. In such embodiments, SFF1208A would forward the packet to IP address 2001:2222::2, where2001:2222 indicates an IP address of SF2 210B, and ‘2’ is the unchangedoption flag previously set by classifier 206.

Various types of calculations can be performed to make predictions as towhether the time delay of a packet is likely to exceed the latencythreshold. By way of example, the current time delay can be compared toa latency threshold divided by the number of hops along the SFC.Alternatively, weighted time designations can be considered as betweendifferent SF types, for example, to take account for variations inprocessing time (at a time delay) for different SF types.

In some aspects, option flag status can be evaluated (or re-evaluated)based on a measured jitter for a particular traffic flow. For example,detected measures of jitter exceeding a predetermined variance or“jitter threshold” can trigger the re-evaluation of option flag settingfor any (or all) packets in a corresponding traffic flow. As such,changes to option flag settings (e.g., latency thresholds and/or jitterthresholds) can also be based on changes to one or more networkpolicies, such as an obtaining Service Level Agreement.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of steps to implement an example SFprioritization method 300, according to some aspects of the technology.However, it is understood that steps of method 300 can be performed in adifferent order, or may be optionally performed in certainimplementations, without departing from the scope of the technology.

Method 300 begins with step 302 in which a packet is received by aservice function forwarder (SFF). The receiving SFF can be any of anumber of SFFs in an SFC, for example, along a network path to adestination egress node (e.g., egress node 216).

After the SFF has received the packet, method 300 proceeds to step 304in which the SFF determines if an option flag has been set in thereceived packet. As discussed above, the option flag may have beenwritten (or rewritten) by any SFF upstream in the SFC. If at step 304,if it is determined that no option flag has been set, method 300proceeds to step 306, in which the SFF forwards the packet to itsassociated service function (SF). Subsequently, at step 308, the SFFperforms a calculation to determine if a predicted latency of the packetexceeds a predetermined latency threshold for the SFC.

The predicted latency calculation can be based on a variety of networkparameters and/or calculation methods. For example, the latency can bebased on a number of SFs in the service function path, and an averagetime needed to apply a network function at each SF instance.

Next, at step 310, it is determined if the predicted latency calculatedin step 308 exceeds a predetermined latency threshold for the SFC. If itis determined that latency threshold is not likely to be exceeded,method 300 proceeds to step 312 and the packet is forwarded to the nextSFF in the SFC. Alternatively, in implementations wherein multiple SFsin the service function path are associated with a common SFF,forwarding may be simply performed to the next SF designated by thefunction path.

Alternatively, if at step 310 it is determined that the latencythreshold is likely to be exceeded, method 300 proceeds to step 314, andan option flag is set in the packet before it is forwarded to the nextSFF.

In some alternative approaches, step 310 may additionally (oralternatively) include a determination of whether a jitter for thecorresponding traffic flow exceeds a predetermined jitter threshold. Asdiscussed above, the jitter threshold can be a value specifying anacceptable amount of variance in packet delivery latency for a giventraffic flow.

Referring back to step 304, if it is determined that the option flag inthe received packet is not set, method 300 proceeds to step 316, whereinit is determined whether a next SFF designated in the service functionpath is mandatory. Mandatory SFs can include network functions with highpriority designations, including, but not limited to SFs that perform:routing, firewall, and/or deep packet inspection functions, etc. It isunderstood that priority designations (i.e., to designated whether agiven SF is mandatory or non-mandatory), can be configured, for example,by an administrator.

If at step 316 it is determined that the associated SF is mandatory,process 300 proceeds to step 318 wherein the packet is forwarded to themandatory SF. Subsequently, in step 312, the packet is forwarded to thenext SFF in the service function path. In some alternativeimplementations, after the packet is provided to required SF (e.g., atstep 318), process 300 proceeds to step 320 in which a predicted latencyfor the packet is calculated.

Alternatively, at step 316, if it is determined that invocation of theassociated SF is not mandatory, process 300 proceeds to step 320, wherea calculated latency prediction is performed. Next, at step 322, it isdetermined if the predicted latency exceeds the predetermined latencythreshold, and if so, method 300 proceeds back to step 312, and thepacket is forwarded to the next SFF. Alternatively, if the latencythreshold is not exceeded, the option flag of the packet is removedand/or the packet is forwarded down the service function chain, e.g., tothe next SFF in the path, or to a final destination (egress) node.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example network device 410 according to someembodiments. Network device can be configured to provide hardware,software, and/or firmware necessary to support the implementation of oneor more service function forwarder/s and/or service functions of thetechnology.

Network device 410 includes a master central processing unit (CPU) 462,interfaces 468, and a bus 415 (e.g., a PCI bus). When acting under thecontrol of appropriate software or firmware, the CPU 462 is responsiblefor executing packet management, error detection, and/or routingfunctions. The CPU 462 preferably accomplishes all these functions underthe control of software including an operating system and anyappropriate applications software. CPU 462 may include one or moreprocessors 463 such as a processor from the Motorola family ofmicroprocessors or the MIPS family of microprocessors. In an alternativeembodiment, processor 463 is specially designed hardware for controllingthe operations of router 410. In a specific embodiment, a memory 461(such as non-volatile RAM and/or ROM) also forms part of CPU 462.However, there are many different ways in which memory could be coupledto the system.

Interfaces 468 are typically provided as interface cards (sometimesreferred to as “line cards”). Generally, they control the sending andreceiving of data packets over the network and sometimes support otherperipherals used with the router 410. Among the interfaces that can beprovided are Ethernet interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cableinterfaces, DSL interfaces, token ring interfaces, and the like. Inaddition, various very high-speed interfaces can be provided such asfast token ring interfaces, wireless interfaces, Ethernet interfaces,Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, ATM interfaces, HSSI interfaces, POSinterfaces, FDDI interfaces and the like. Generally, these interfacesmay include ports appropriate for communication with the appropriatemedia. In some cases, they may also include an independent processorand, in some instances, volatile RAM. The independent processors maycontrol such communications intensive tasks as packet switching, mediacontrol and management. By providing separate processors for thecommunications intensive tasks, these interfaces allow the mastermicroprocessor 462 to efficiently perform routing computations, networkdiagnostics, security functions, etc.

Although the system shown in FIG. 4 is one specific network device ofthe present invention, it is by no means the only network devicearchitecture on which the present invention can be implemented. Forexample, an architecture having a single processor that handlescommunications as well as routing computations, etc. is often used.Further, other types of interfaces and media could also be used with therouter.

Regardless of the network device's configuration, it may employ one ormore memories or memory modules (including memory 461) configured tostore program instructions for the general-purpose network operationsand mechanisms for roaming, route optimization and routing functionsdescribed herein. The program instructions may control the operation ofan operating system and/or one or more applications, for example. Thememory or memories may also be configured to store tables such asmobility binding, registration, and association tables, etc.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrate example system embodiments. The moreappropriate embodiment will be apparent to those of skill in the artwhen practicing the present technology. Persons of ordinary skill in theart will also readily appreciate that other system embodiments arepossible.

FIG. 5A illustrates a system bus computing system architecture 500wherein the components of the system are in electrical communicationwith each other using a bus 505. Exemplary system 500 includes aprocessing unit (CPU or processor) 510 and a system bus 505 that couplesvarious system components including the system memory 515, such as readonly memory (ROM) 520 and random access memory (RAM) 525, to theprocessor 510. The system 500 can include a cache of high-speed memoryconnected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated as part ofthe processor 510. The system 500 can copy data from the memory 515and/or the storage device 530 to the cache 512 for quick access by theprocessor 510. In this way, the cache can provide a performance boostthat avoids processor 510 delays while waiting for data. These and othermodules can control or be configured to control the processor 510 toperform various actions. Other system memory 515 can be available foruse as well. The memory 515 can include multiple different types ofmemory with different performance characteristics. The processor 510 caninclude any general purpose processor and a hardware module or softwaremodule, such as module 1 532, module 2 534, and module 3 536 stored instorage device 530, configured to control the processor 510 as well as aspecial-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporatedinto the actual processor design. The processor 510 may essentially be acompletely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores orprocessors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processorcan be symmetric or asymmetric.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 500, an inputdevice 545 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as amicrophone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphicalinput, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An outputdevice 535 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanismsknown to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodalsystems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input tocommunicate with the computing device 500. The communications interface540 can generally govern and manage the user input and system output.There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardwarearrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily besubstituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they aredeveloped.

Storage device 530 is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk orother types of computer readable media which can store data that areaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges,random access memories (RAMs) 525, read only memory (ROM) 520, andhybrids thereof.

The storage device 530 can include software modules 532, 534, 536 forcontrolling the processor 510. Other hardware or software modules arecontemplated. The storage device 530 can be connected to the system bus505. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particularfunction can include the software component stored in acomputer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardwarecomponents, such as the processor 510, bus 505, display 535, and soforth, to carry out the function.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example computer system 550 having a chipsetarchitecture that can be used in executing the described method andgenerating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI). Computersystem 550 is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmwarethat can be used to implement the disclosed technology. System 550 caninclude a processor 555, representative of any number of physicallyand/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software,firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations.Processor 555 can communicate with a chipset 560 that can control inputto and output from processor 555. In this example, chipset 560 outputsinformation to output device 565, such as a display, and can read andwrite information to storage device 570, which can include magneticmedia, and solid state media, for example. Chipset 560 can also readdata from and write data to RAM 575. A bridge 580 for interfacing with avariety of user interface components 585 can be provided for interfacingwith chipset 560. Such user interface components 585 can include akeyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processing circuitry, apointing device, such as a mouse, and so on. In general, inputs tosystem 550 can come from any of a variety of sources, machine generatedand/or human generated.

Chipset 560 can also interface with one or more communication interfaces590 that can have different physical interfaces. Such communicationinterfaces can include interfaces for wired and wireless local areanetworks, for broadband wireless networks, as well as personal areanetworks. Some applications of the methods for generating, displaying,and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receiving ordereddatasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machineitself by processor 555 analyzing data stored in storage 570 or 575.Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user via user interfacecomponents 585 and execute appropriate functions, such as browsingfunctions by interpreting these inputs using processor 555.

It can be appreciated that example systems 500 and 550 can have morethan one processor 510 or be part of a group or cluster of computingdevices networked together to provide greater processing capability.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology maybe presented as including individual functional blocks includingfunctional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps orroutines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardwareand software.

In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, andmemories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit streamand the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readablestorage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals,electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implementedusing computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwiseavailable from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise,for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing device to perform a certain function or group of functions.Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network.The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, orsource code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used tostore instructions, information used, and/or information created duringmethods according to described examples include magnetic or opticaldisks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory,networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprisehardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety ofform factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops,smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digitalassistants, rackmount devices, standalone devices, and so on.Functionality described herein also can be embodied in peripherals oradd-in cards. Such functionality can also be implemented on a circuitboard among different chips or different processes executing in a singledevice, by way of further example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computingresources for executing them, and other structures for supporting suchcomputing resources are means for providing the functions described inthese disclosures.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explainaspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of theclaims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements insuch examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use theseexamples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further andalthough some subject matter may have been described in languagespecific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it isto be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claimsis not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. Forexample, such functionality can be distributed differently or performedin components other than those identified herein. Rather, the describedfeatures and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systemsand methods within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, claimlanguage reciting “at least one of” a set indicates that one member ofthe set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim.

It should be understood that features or configurations herein withreference to one embodiment or example can be implemented in, orcombined with, other embodiments or examples herein. That is, terms suchas “embodiment”, “variation”, “aspect”, “example”, “configuration”,“implementation”, “case”, and any other terms which may connote anembodiment, as used herein to describe specific features orconfigurations, are not intended to limit any of the associated featuresor configurations to a specific or separate embodiment or embodiments,and should not be interpreted to suggest that such features orconfigurations cannot be combined with features or configurationsdescribed with reference to other embodiments, variations, aspects,examples, configurations, implementations, cases, and so forth. In otherwords, features described herein with reference to a specific example(e.g., embodiment, variation, aspect, configuration, implementation,case, etc.) can be combined with features described with reference toanother example. Precisely, one of ordinary skill in the art willreadily recognize that the various embodiments or examples describedherein, and their associated features, can be combined with each other.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. Aphrase such as an aspect may refer to one or more aspects and viceversa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A phrase such as a configuration mayrefer to one or more configurations and vice versa. The word “exemplary”is used herein to mean “serving as an example or illustration.” Anyaspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily tobe construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs.

Moreover, claim language reciting “at least one of” a set indicates thatone member of the set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim.For example, claim language reciting “at least one of A, B, and C” or“at least one of A, B, or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:sending a plurality of packets along a service function chain (SFC) toan egress node, the SFC comprising a plurality of service functionforwarders (SFFs), each of the plurality of SFFs associated with atleast one service function (SF); and receiving the plurality of packetsat a first SFF of the plurality of SFFs, the first SFF associated with afirst SF and configured to perform operations comprising: reading anoption flag of at least one packet of the plurality of packets, inresponse to the option flag of the at least one packet being set,determining whether the first SF is a mandatory network function, inresponse to determining that the first SF is a mandatory networkfunction, forwarding the plurality of packets to the first SF andsubsequently forwarding the plurality of packets to a second SFF in theSFC, and in response to determining that the first SF is not a mandatorynetwork function, forwarding the plurality of packets to the second SFFin the SFC.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, thefunction is determined to be the mandatory network function, and theplurality of packets are forwarded to the second SFF after theforwarding of the packet to the first SF.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein, the function is determined to not be themandatory network function, and the forwarding of the plurality ofpackets to the second SFF includes determining a latency threshold isexceeded.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thereading of the option flag of the at least one packet of the pluralityof packets includes determining whether the option flag is set.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of packetsare forwarded based on the determining whether the option flag is set.6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the option flagincludes information stored in an Internet Protocol (IP) address headerof the at least one packet of the plurality of packets.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the option flag includesinformation stored between an Internet Protocol (IP) address header anda payload of the at least one packet of the plurality of packets.
 8. Asystem comprising: at least one processor; a network interface coupledto the at least one processor; and a memory device storing instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at leastone processor to perform operations comprising: sending a plurality ofpackets along a service function chain (SFC) to an egress node, the SFCcomprising a plurality of service function forwarders (SFFs), each ofthe plurality of SFFs associated with at least one service function(SF); and receiving the plurality of packets at a first SFF of theplurality of SFFs in the SFC, the first SFF associated with a first SFand configured to perform SFF operations comprising: reading an optionflag of at least one packet of the plurality of packets, in response tothe option flag of the at least one packet being set, determiningwhether the first SF is a mandatory network function, in response todetermining that the first SF is a mandatory network function,forwarding the plurality of packets to the first SF and subsequentlyforwarding the plurality of packets to a second SFF in the SFC, and inresponse to determining that the first SF is not a mandatory networkfunction, forwarding the plurality of packets to the second SFF in theSFC.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein, the function is determined to bethe mandatory network function, and the SFF operations further includeforwarding the plurality of packets to the second SFF after theforwarding of the packet to the first SF.
 10. The system of claim 8,wherein, the function is determined to not be the mandatory networkfunction, and the SFF operations further include determining whether alatency threshold is exceeded before the forwarding of the plurality ofpackets to the second SFF.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein thereading of the option flag of the at least one packet of the pluralityof packets includes determining whether the option flag is set.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the plurality of packets are forwarded basedon the determining whether the option flag is set.
 13. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the option flag includes information stored in anInternet Protocol (IP) address header of the at least one packet of theplurality of packets.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the option flagincludes information stored between an Internet Protocol (IP) addressheader and a payload of the at least one packet of the plurality ofpackets.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumcomprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by one ormore processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:sending a plurality of packets along a service function chain (SFC) toan egress node, the SFC comprising a plurality of service functionforwarders (SFFs), each of the plurality of SFFs associated with atleast one service function (SF); and receiving the plurality of packetsat a first SFF of the plurality of SFFs in the SFC, the first SFFassociated with a first SF and configured to perform SFF operationscomprising: reading an option flag of at least one packet of theplurality of packets, in response to the option flag of the at least onepacket being set, determining whether the first SF is a mandatorynetwork function, in response to determining that the first SF is amandatory network function, forwarding the plurality of packets to thefirst SF and subsequently forwarding the plurality of packets to asecond SFF in the SFC, and in response to determining that the first SFis not a mandatory network function, forwarding the plurality of packetsto the second SFF in the SFC.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein, the function is determined to bethe mandatory network function, and the SFF operations further includeforwarding the plurality of packets to the second SFF after theforwarding of the packet to the first SF.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein, the function isdetermined to not be the mandatory network function, and the SFFoperations further include determining whether a latency threshold isexceeded before the forwarding of the plurality of packets to the secondSFF includes.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein the reading of the option flag of the at least onepacket of the plurality of packets includes determining whether theoption flag is set.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 18, wherein the plurality of packets are forwarded basedon the determining whether the option flag is set.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein theoption flag includes information stored in an Internet Protocol (IP)address header of the at least one packet of the plurality of packets.